REFERENCE: UB 3:0.1 — “God is everywhere present…”
COMMENT
Presence and power are not passive. He rules. Note: Introduction of “circle of eternity.”
We are related to God as a ruler, by and through Michael. God bestows life through Michael.
God’s gift of eternal life is in his Sons. See 1 John 5:11. “God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”
In our philosophy Creator Sons are plural; in our experience, singular.
Since God is eternal, his gift of life is eternal—that is, future eternal.
God’s gift of eternal life can be accepted or rejected by free-will mortals.
The temporal personality comes to possess this eternal life by the technique of evolving an immortal soul through the joint parentage of:
A. The human mind, and
B. The divine Thought Adjuster.
These Creator Sons are the personal expression of God to the evolutionary worlds.
Without this eternal life, man lives and dies just like an animal.
Michael is the trustee of this eternal life—the channel between the infinite Source and the mortal bestowal.
Speaking of this life bestowal Jesus said: John 5:26. “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.” John 10:28. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” John 11:25. “And Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life.’” John 14:6. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.’”
This is God’s omnipresence. Only God can be in numberless places at the same time.
These texts are found in: Deut 4:39. “The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath: there is no other.” Ps 139:7. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?”
God is near at hand as well as afar off. Jer 23:23,24. “‘Am I a God at hand, says the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth?’”
God is not just heaven and earth. He fills heaven and earth. God is all the time present in all parts and all hearts of his universe.
God is not only a power presence, but also a personal presence.
He is the fullness of him who fills all and in all. And he works all in all.
This seems to be Paul in Eph 1:23. “Which is his body, the fulness of him who fills all in all.” Note: Some personality fills all and is in all. The Adjuster as contrasted with the Infinite Omnipresence.
This suggests self-existence—self-will. He not only is ALL—but he is also in all. This is a phenomena embracing both cause and effect—and all intervening interaction between cause and effect.
Paul further expresses this concept in Cor 12:6. “And there are varieties of working, but it is the same God who inspires them all in every one.”
But even the heaven of heavens cannot contain the personality of God. See 1 Kings 8:27. “‘Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain thee; how much less this house which I have built!’” Note: Highest heaven—Paradise.
Note plural heavens. God cannot be limited to one place.
While it is true that God is all and in all, that is not all of God.
A. God as First Source and Center is all. Unqualified Absolute.
B. God as Creator-Father is in all. Deity Absolute.
C. But that is not all of God. There is a potentiality of interrelatedness and co-ordination. Universal Absolute.
The Infinite can be finally revealed only in infinity—and that entails eternity.
The cause can never be fully revealed in effects. Causes are greater than effects, so the former can never be fully disclosed by the examination of the latter.
Primary causes are infinite. Secondary causes may be finite, but they are derived from infinite will.
The Creator is infinite—and the creation potentially infinite. The whole of causation is greater than all discoverable creation effects.
GESTALT. The parts derive their meaning from an attempted understanding of the whole. That is: Creation is best understood by worshipful contemplation of the Creator.
While God may partially be revealed through the cosmos, the cosmos can never contain or encompass the infinity of God.
The Father’s presence patrols the master universe—not just the grand universe. Note: It is his presence—not his personality.
Patrol means to keep order—sustain—make secure for all concerned.
God the Father is not walking a beat—he has plenty of help.
Some factors of the Father’s presence.
A. Gravity presence. (Personality)
B. Adjusters and other God-fragments.
C. Spirit presence of the Eternal Son.
D. Mind presence of the Infinite Spirit.
E. Presence of the subordinate Creators.
F. The Supreme and the Ultimate.
G. The presence of the Absolutes.
God pervades the universe. Ps 19:6. “Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat.” Note: Light in the King James version—heat in the Revised version. Remember: Light without heat.
COMMENT
This paragraph consists of six quotations from Sikhism:
“As I behold creation, I am amazed and astonished. God is contained in the hearts of men. In my heart I hold God, who filleth every place.” Hymns of Guru Nanak, Asa Ashtapadi: Macauliffe, Sikh Religion 1.301.
“God is concealed in every heart. His light is in every heart.” Hymns of Guru Nanak, Rag Sorath: Macauliffe, Sikh Religion 1.330.
“Many millions search for God, and find him in their hearts.” Hymns of Guru Arjan, Sukhmani: Ashtapadi 10.6. Macauliffe, Sikh Religion 3.330.
“I go searching for the friend; but the friend is with me.” Slokas of Religion 6.413.
“Him whom I thought without me, I now find within me. When I found this secret, I recognized the Lord of the world.” Kabir’s Hymns, Acrostic 30: Macauliffe, Sikh Religion 6.186.
This last quotation: “The Father lives in the child. God is always with us. He is the guiding spirit of eternal destiny.”—I have been unable to locate. Note: All passages in The Urantia Book which appear within quotes are from the sacred books of the world’s living religions.
Love can dominate us because God dwells within us. 1 John 4:4. “For he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:16. “He who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
Even our wrong thinking torments our Thought Adjusters.
All universes acknowledge God’s sovereignty. Rev 19:6. “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude…crying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns,’”
The affairs of our world are supervised. Dan 4:35. “And he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.”
God is the source of all power. Rom 13:1. “For there is no authority except from God.”
Within the bounds of consistency, all things are possible with God. The quotation is from Jesus’ discussion about the camel going through the eye of a needle. Mark 10:27. “‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.’”
But even things which are possible with God may not be probable. God could no doubt heal all diseases—cancer. But doctors must depend on what God does do, not on what he can do.
The long evolutionary process unfolds according to the eternal purpose. Why do we see so little of the divine plan?
A. We are finite—we discover order, but discern little perfection.
B. The purpose is eternal—we are time-conditioned. We cannot focus on an eternal project.
C. The plan is universal—we are local in space.
D. We are too finite to detect infinite wisdom in the eternal purpose.
E. The plan is characterized by harmony—we are confused and distorted by sin and rebellion.
F. It is not easy for the lowest order of intelligence to perceive the doings of the highest intelligence.
G. We can only partially comprehend the Supreme—much less the Infinite.
There is but one law-giver. The laws of the cosmos are the habit of God.
God upholds the universes and swings them around their circuits.
The Father dominates all energy—physical, mindal, spiritual—on the absolute level.
In infinity all energies are indistinguishable. Monota is nonspirit Paradise energy, but indistinguishable from Paradise spirit. Note: In a former edition of Webster the word monota appears as a footnote.
Creature mind—not originating on Paradise—is not directly dominated by the Universal Father. Mortal mind takes origin in the local universe.
God adjusts with mortal mind by means of the Thought Adjusters.
God is not a transient force or fluctuating energy.
God is able to deal with all the emergencies of the cosmos: personality reactions, group antagonisms, animal propensities, mental and emotional conflicts, error, evil, and sin.
God deals with the cosmos according to:
A. Dictates of eternal wisdom.
B. Mandates of infinite judgment.
Regardless of appearances, the power of God is not functioning like a blind force.
Because of the great differences in the creatures of the universe, it is difficult for these finite beings to comprehend the doings of an Infinite God.
Said Jesus, just before leaving Urantia: “I have overcome the world.” John 16:33. He did not say, I have understood or explained the world.
Because of our misunderstanding, many of the doings of God may seem to be cruel and heartless. But they are not.
God’s doings are really wise, kind, and purposeful. They are for the highest good of the greatest number.
The privileges of cosmic citizenship exact the price of subjection to the demands of cosmic welfare in its entirety.
Sometimes the welfare of the part may appear to differ from the welfare of the whole. From God’s viewpoint such differences do not exist.
Notwithstanding God’s eternity and infinity, he is absolute in volition.UB 4:4.4
Inability to attain the infinity of God should not prevent our enjoying him on the finite level.UB 106:7.6
Bible texts: Job 5:9. “Who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number.” Job 36:26. “Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.” Isa 46:10. “Declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” Matt 19:26. “But with God all things are possible.” Dan 4:35. “And he does according to his will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.” Job 42:2. “I know that thou canst do all things, and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted."
God knows all things. 1 John 3:20. “God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
God’s consciousness embraces the thought of all creation. Note:
A. The mind circuit of the Infinite Spirit.
B. The far-flung distribution of Thought Adjusters.
He knows about everything before it happens.
The divine entities (Adjusters) going out from him are a part of him.
He controls nature and is perfect in knowledge. See Job 37:16. “Do you know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge.”
The eyes of the Lord are in every place. Prov 15:3. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.”
About the sparrows and the number of your hairs. Matt 10:29,30.”Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s will. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” (Regarding technique of counting hairs, see Urantia Book, (419.3) 38:2.3)
He knows all about astronomy. Ps 147:4. “He determines the number of the stars, he gives to all of them their names.”
The Universal Father is always conscious of all the worlds of all universes.
The rest of this paragraph is a series of quotations: Ex 3:7. “Then the Lord said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry…I know their sufferings.’” Ps 33:13,14. “The Lord looks down from heaven, he sees all the sons of men; from where he sits enthroned he looks forth on all the inhabitants of the earth.” Job 23:10. “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, Ps 139:2,3. “Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.” Heb 4:13. “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Ps 103:14. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.” Matt 6:8. “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
REFERENCE: UB 3:3.5 — “Omnipotence does not imply…”
COMMENT
God cannot do the nondoable or an ungodlike act.
God does not know the unknowable.
But all such statements are not comprehensible to the mortal mind.
Note three Bible texts: 1 John 3:20. “For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” Heb 4:13. “And before him no creature is hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.” Matt 6:8. “For your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
God’s distribution of himself to the universes does not lessen his infinite attributes. Note: Reside—”To have an abiding place; to be present.”Repose—”Freedom from that which excites or stirs up. Peace, calm, and tranquility.”
The potential of God’s nature and attributes is in no way lessened by the unstinted bestowal of himself upon his creation.
The Father rules through an unbroken line of Sons, ending with the Planetary Princes.
It is no mere poetic expression that “the earth is the Lord’s,” and that he “rules in the kingdoms of men.” Ps 24:1. “The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” Dan 2:21. “He removes kings and sets up kings.” Dan 4:17. “That the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men.”
This quote from Jesus is John 10:28,29. “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” Note: In the King James version it says “no man.” Revised version is the same as the Urantia Book—”no one.”
Even if we cannot grasp the whole of God’s nature and acts, we can hold fast the concept of him—here and there. Here—in our hearts. There—on Paradise.
There is but one God—and in him all things consist. Eph 4:6. “One God and Father of us all, who is above all and through all and in all.” Col 1:17. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
TRUTH CONSCIOUSNESS. Ability to recognize truth by its flavor.
ALTRUISM. Unselfish service for one’s fellows. Ethical brotherhood.
IMITATION. Ability to observe and repeat an act. Spontaneous learning.
IDEALISM. Consciousness of the superior.
MORALITY. Consciousness of the contrast of good and evil.
CIVILIZATION. Ability to execute the dreams of creative imagination.
HUMOR. Only man can laugh at a joke. Note: Man’s nearest of kin among animals very closely approaches some of these attainments, but never actually and in the human sense.